Surveys

Buying a property is possibly the biggest investment of your life and we recommend you have a detailed structural survey before completing a purchase in order to highlight any issues that may need to be addressed.

This is particularly important if you are buying an older property as there can be internal issues that are not apparent to the layperson or even on simply viewing the property which can substantially impact the value of the property or require considerable investment to fix.

Generally, a building survey will give you an overview of the property’s structural, internal and external conditions and highlight significant issues such as damp or subsidence.

It will include advice on necessary repairs as well as on-going maintenance and will point out anything that doesn’t meet current building regulations. The surveyor should expressly state what has been or cannot be vouched for.

If you have any concerns or if the property is old or unusual, you should point this out to the surveyor in advance as you may require a more in depth survey.

The building survey should be carried out by a member of the SOCS (Society of Chartered Surveyors), usually a chartered surveyor, or in some circumstances an engineer or architect.

The price will depend on the depth of the inspection sought, the size of the property, modifications that may have been made or other issues, however it is a small price to pay for the peace of mind.

If you require a surveyor, we can refer to you some that come highly recommended.